Home Office

Asylum: Housing

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 32851, on Asylum housing, how many and what proportion of properties were deemed compliant with contractual obligations following an inspection by (a) her Department and (b) providers in each (i) COMPASS region and (ii) contractual pay period in (A) 2014-15 and (B) 2015-16; and how many people were affected by faults identified from COMPASS inspections not being repaired within the contract timescales in each of those regions in each of those periods.

James Brokenshire: The performance standards defined in the COMPASS contract are managed using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which include measure of whether an individual property is compliant with contractual obligations following an inspection and also the number of service users affected if a fault is not repaired within the contract timescales.The Home Office contract management reporting regime does not retain information in a format that readily allows for data extraction on the number of individual property inspection or faults in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Greece

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to accelerate the process of identifying and processing people who are eligible for family reunification transfers from Greece to other EU countries under the Dublin III Regulation in addition to the two UK experts already sent to Greece to support Greek immigration officials dealing with applications under Dublin III Regulation and a further one to be deployed in May.

James Brokenshire: As notified in my statement of 21 April, HCWS687, 75 UK expert personnel will be deployed to Greece to support implementation of the EU-Turkey Migration Agreement and will conduct a number of duties. A proportion of the UK expert personnel will work closely with European Asylum Support Officer (EASO) coordinators and the Greek Asylum Service to process cases through the admissibility process and provide expert support to the Greek authorities and other EU partners on overall co-ordination of the response. Supporting the operation of the Greek asylum service is a fundamental part of this Government’s approach to identifying individuals in need of protection at the earliest possible opportunity and ensuring they are identified as eligible for family reunification consideration under the terms of Dublin Regulation.This is in addition to the support that we are already providing to European partner Dublin Units. Two UK experts have already been deployed to the Greek Dublin Unit and have provided valuable assistance. A third was due to be deployed, however, EASO has informed us that support to the Greek Dublin Unit is currently at full complement. We stand ready to deploy our experts as soon as they are required. We are confident that through our cooperation and concerted joint efforts we can identify and facilitate the swift transfers of cases through our national systems and make effective use of the Dublin Regulation.As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.

Human Trafficking

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police raids in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland resulted in potential victims of human trafficking being taken by the police to reception centres in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential victims of human trafficking were taken by the police to reception centres following police raids in the last year; what proportion of such potential victims volunteered to enter the National Referral Mechanism; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The number of potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism by police is published by the National Crime Agency on an annual basis and can be found in a number of tables which can be accessed here:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statisticsInformation on the numbers of potential victims taken to reception centres following police raids, and whether they subsequently entered the NRM, is recorded on an individual case level but is not held centrally.

Asylum: EU Law

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has provided for her officials on the identification, screening and processing of people potentially entitled to make an application for family reunion under the Dublin III Regulation.

James Brokenshire: The UK is working with other EU Member States to ensure that the process for applications for family reunion under the Dublin III Regulation is running effectively and efficiently. We have seconded experts to certain other EU countries to assist with this. They are working in accordance with guidance and processes issued by the European Asylum Support Office and the relevant governmental authority.

Marriage Certificates

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for (a) mothers' names to be added on marriage certificates and (b) a marriage registration system that takes account of different family circumstances where there may not be a mother and a father; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Marriage Registration Reform Bill, introduced by my Right Honourable Friend the Member for Meriden (Caroline Spelman) in the previous Parliamentary session, would have enabled the details of both parents of the couple to be included on the marriage certificate.The Home Office is continuing to develop proposals that will allow mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates.

Asylum: Families

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34024, whether the matter of family ties to the UK being considered only after substantive interview is in compliance with the Dublin Regulations.

James Brokenshire: Following an application for asylum in the UK, the first stage in the asylum process is the Screening process, which includes collection of fingerprints and bio data, travel history, health, summary of claim, security checks and family background. If at this first stage evidence emerges that an applicant’s asylum application should be more correctly dealt with by another European state in accordance with the Dublin Regulation, then, we would seek to transfer the applicant to the member state responsible for deciding the application.It is, however, possible that evidence concerning responsibility of another state emerges after the screening process, in which case a request to another state to take responsibility under the Dublin Regulation can be made, providing that the Regulation’s time limits for making requests are met. In cases involving family unity Article 17(2) of the Regulation make special provision for requests to take responsibility to be made at any time before a first decision is made on the substance of the asylum claim.For individuals who claim asylum in another EU member stage and who seek to rely on family connections to the UK as part of their application, application and compliance with the Dublin Regulation would be a matter for the individual state concerned.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to extend the terms of reference of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to investigate the abuse of children in mainstream schools.

Karen Bradley: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse already has wide-ranging terms of reference to examine the extent to which public and other bodies in England and Wales have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse. Decisions around what it investigates, and the specific terms and scope of the investigations, are a matter for the Independent Inquiry. There are no plans to extend the terms of reference further.

Cumbria Constabulary: Sick Leave

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in Cumbria Constabulary are absent from work as a result of sickness or injuries caused by violence inflicted on them in the course of their duties.

Mike Penning: The Home Office collects data on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) officers on certified long-term sick leave as at 31 March each year. This can be broken down by those on long-term sick leave as a result of assault, and those on long-term sick leave for other reasons. Long-term sick includes officers on leave for 28 days or more.The latest published data shows that there were 16 officers (FTE) on long-term sick leave in the Cumbria Constabulary, as at 31 March 2015. None of these were following assaults.Data on the number of officers on short/medium-term absence due to sickness are published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, and show that 16 officers were on short/medium-term sick leave as at 31 March 2015. These data do not identify the reasons for the absence.

Cumbria Constabulary

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents in the Cumbria Constabulary area were responded to by a single officer in each year since 2012.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not collect this information. The manner in which police officers are deployed is an operational decision for chief officers, in line with local priorities and held to account by police and crime commissioners.

Nottinghamshire Police

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the role of chief superintendent for Nottingham at Nottinghamshire Police  was removed on 1 May 2016; what consultation was carried out prior to that decision being made; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: The decision on the deployment of available resources, including roles for chief superintendents, are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their police and crime commissioners.

Nottinghamshire Police

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the effect will be on the pension entitlement of the Deputy Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police of her promotion to acting Chief Constable.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold information about the personal pension entitlement of any individual police officer.Arrangements for the pensionable pay of chief officers on temporary promotion to a higher rank are set out in determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003. These state that after 28 days spent performing the duties of a chief constable, a deputy chief constable will be paid either a temporary salary (pensionable) at a rate equivalent to 90% of the higher rank’s basic pay or an honorarium (a non-pensionable payment) of an amount to be determined by the local policing body.Pensionable pay is taken into account in calculating pension contributions and pension benefits, whereas any non-pensionable payments are not.

Alternatives to Prison

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps law enforcement agencies can take to ensure that community resolution agreements are honoured.

Mike Penning: A community resolution is a voluntary agreement between the victim and offender to a low level crime where the offender has admitted responsibility and as such is unenforceable.If an officer has concerns at the outset that the offender may not comply an alternative course of action should be taken.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: Syria

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart to (a) re-open Turkey's borders to Syrian asylum seekers and (b) conduct independent investigations on alleged attacks on Syrian asylum seekers by Turkish border guards.

Mr David Lidington: We are aware of the allegations of the use of lethal force against civilians trying to cross the border from Syria into Turkey. We are unable to verify these allegations, as is the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The allegations have been strongly refuted by the Government of Turkey. We regularly raise with the Government of Turkey issues relating to the management of the border with Syria and the treatment of refugees. Turkey is hosting over 2.7million Syrian refugees. We understand that the Turkish government has made preparations to accept more Syrian refugees should conditions in Syria necessitate so, but that its approach is to enable humanitarian aid to be provided to affected populations in northern Syria.

Sudan: Christianity

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will make representations to the government of Sudan on the arrests and daily reporting conditions imposed on at least six clergymen and two lay members from three church denominations in Khartoum since December 2015.

James Duddridge: Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan continues to be an area of concern for the UK. We have consistently called on the Government of Sudan to ensure all legislation is in line with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005; within which religious freedom is enshrined. Our Embassy in Khartoum raised the detention and requirement to report on a daily basis to the National Intelligence and Security Service, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 10 May.

Middle East: Overseas Aid

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding the Government provided to each (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian non-governmental organisation through the (i) Conflict Security and Stability Fund and (ii) bilateral programme budget in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: (a)The provisional project spend for 2015/16 for non-governmental organisations registered in Israel provided through: (i) the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is: The Peres Centre for Peace - £44,592; Injaz - Centre for Professional Arab Local Governance - £60,608; Kids Creating Peace - £40,000; Yesh Din - £196,084; Gisha - £53,126; Peace Now - £124,361; Terrestrial Jerusalem - £51,040; The International Peace and Cooperation Centre - £232,933; and Rabbis for Human Rights - £101,441; (ii) the Bilateral Programme Budget is: none.(b)The provisional project spend for 2015/16 for non-governmental organisations registered with the Palestinian Authority provided through: (i) the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is: Jerusalem Community Advocacy Network (also registered in Israel) - £141,679 (ii) the Bilateral Programme Budget is: Society for the care of Disabled People - £9,117; Nawa Association for Culture and Arts Association - £7,111; Al Aqsa Sports and Social Club- £9,602; Society for Physically Handicapped People - £9,602; Ibda’a for children development and institutional cultural exchange - £5,062; Idna Cooperation - Women Capacity Building- £6,658; Sourif Association for Higher Education - £2,920; Iman and Baraem Kindergartens - £4,865 ; ADWAR Association for Social Change - £5,516; Assembly of Benevolent Operation - £7,061; Atwar centre - £1,282; Diyar Sports school for Girls – £6,328; Saint Nicolas Home for the Elderly - £5,183; Hebron Rehabilitation Committee - £5,010; Ashtar Theatre - £2,127; The Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry - £9,963; Aqaba Club for Unity and Hope - £5,169; Burj Al Luqluq Youth Centre (also registered in Israel) - £19,297; and Silwan Youth Centre (also registered in Israel) - £7,173

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Overseas Trade: China

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the Government's policy is on the granting of market economy status to China.

Anna Soubry: The Government believes it is important that World Trade Organisation members meet their international obligations. But we are also committed to tackling unfair trade and ensuring that the Commission continues to have the necessary tools available to do this.China’s 2001 Protocol of Accession to the WTO removes certain provisions after 15 years, so countries may need to alter the methodology for calculating dumping when conducting anti-dumping investigations involving China. In such an event, the EU would still be able to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against China, just as it does against Russia, the US and other market economies. We recognise there are real concerns about this. We are committed to discussing implementation of the Protocol's requirements with our international partners.The European Commission is due to present its proposals in this area in the summer. Alongside its proposal, the Commission is expected to present a detailed assessment of the legal, economic and social impacts of this issue. It conducted a consultation earlier this year to collect evidence to inform its assessment and on possible measures to mitigate any adverse effects on EU industry. We welcome this and will examine the Commission’s proposal and impact assessment carefully before deciding our position.

Overseas Trade: South Asia

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on increasing trade between the UK and (a) Pakistan and (b) Azad Kashmir.

Anna Soubry: I have held no discussions with the Federal Minister for Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, about increasing trade between the UK and Pakistan or Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

Measurement: Standards

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many enforcement cases have been taken by which local weights and measures authorities since Chapter 15 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force.

Nick Boles: This information is not held centrally.

Companies: Ownership

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is his policy that the proposed public register of beneficial owners of companies will provide details of the names of (a) trust or company service providers and (b) other third parties which incorporate those companies.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Directors: Disclosure of Information

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason Companies House publishes the month and year of birth of company directors.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment: Telephone Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31997, on employment: telephone services, if he will provide that data for financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

Nick Boles: The table below shows the number of referrals (complaints) from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) to relevant enforcement authorities for the 2010/11 to 2013/14 financial years. Table 1: Referrals from the PWRH to each enforcement agencies, 2010/11 to 2013/14 2010/112011/122012/132013/14HMRC2,0802,4402,6103,690EAS490530600630HSE200250210250DEFRA280210200150GLA60705050*The Pay and Work Rights Helpline opened in May 2009 Notes1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.2. Calls can be referred to more than one agency so the sum does not amount to the total number of calls referred for the period.3. Calls referred to agencies include complaints, complex queries and calls where intelligence was passed to other agencies.4. Figures include referrals via all PWRH communication channels, including telephone calls, post and online complaints.5. These figures are based on final data submitted by BSS on closure at the end of March 2015. They may not reconcile with provisional data provided while the old helpline was operational.

Property: Ownership

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the press release, PM hosts major summit as part of global drive to expose, publish and drive out corruption, published on 12 May 2016, whether he plans to publish information on the ownership of property in the UK owned by foreign companies.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: LGBT People

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to encourage the promotion of LGBT rights through its work with recipients of UK aid.

Mr Desmond Swayne: 'DFID’s approach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights’ was published in February 2016 on the UK Government website. It outlines how DFID will focus on building clarity and narrative around non-discrimination in development and identifying and engaging with the Southern voices.

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department provides to counter the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war and subjugation.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID is committed to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls in emergencies. This includes rape and sexual violence used within armed conflict as a weapon of war. We know that in conflict settings specifically, rape, or sexual violence by combatants is sadly only one component of a wide range of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Other forms of SGBV are often more prevalent.DFID’s response to counter the use of rape and sexual violence is primarily through our commitments under the Call to Action to Protect Women and Girls in Emergencies. Through a combination of humanitarian operations and longer term development programmes we address both the immediate needs of survivors of sexual violence and tackle the underlying root causes of violence, such as gender inequality, discrimination and lack of women’s political and economic participation.

Israel: Palestinians

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2016 to Question 32928, what issues of prisoner payments were raised with the Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Bishara in September 2015; which prisoners were discussed with that Minister; and what representations she has received on reported payments made to Kifah and Ibrahim Ghanimat.

Mr Desmond Swayne: No UK aid is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners, or their families. UK direct financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. I discussed with Minister Bishara a broad range of issues regarding prisoner payments including their administration by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. The UK continues to lobby for the payments to be more transparent, affordable and needs-based.

Department for Education

Business: Education

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase entrepreneurship and business education in schools.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Entrepreneurship and business education are important components of both high quality careers education and guidance as well as a broad education offer for pupils.The careers statutory guidance places a responsibility on schools in England to offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and have access to advice on options available post-16, including entrepreneurship. While it is for schools to decide how best to provide entrepreneurship education, we know that contact with entrepreneurs themselves and businesses more widely is essential. That is why we are funding The Careers & Enterprise Company to increase the number and quality of contacts between young people and businesses, including entrepreneurs.We have revised the business GCSE, so that from September 2017 there is greater depth and breadth and a clearer focus on the overall purpose, features and workings of businesses and how to apply this knowledge in a business context.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding is available for learners formerly on the Youth Contract after the closure of that programme on 31 March 2016.

Nick Boles: The Education Funding Agency (EFA) managed Youth Contract for 16 and 17 year olds which ended on 31 March 2016, was introduced as a time-bound programme to help reduce the proportion of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). It offered targeted extra support to help young people re-engage in education and training.In addition to the duty on local authorities to support young people, pathfinders to test Jobcentre Plus support for young people in schools have started and will be rolled out across England by March 2017. Improvements to careers education and guidance are underway with £90m to be invested over this Parliament – including £20m to increase the number of mentors to support those young people who need it most. Youth Engagement Fund and Fair Chance Fund projects are underway to help improve the prospects of 9,600 young people and an additional £105m was announced in the spending review to scale up Social Impact Bonds over the Parliament, to help deal with issues including youth unemployment.Local authorities continue to work with the Voluntary and Community Sector and local businesses to support young people and other support is available via European Social Fund provision and support for vulnerable groups such as care leavers. As part of the Government’s forthcoming life chances strategy, the Troubled Families Programme and National Citizenship Scheme will be expanded, both of which include support for young people.

University Technical Colleges

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital spending was committed to university technical colleges in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.

Nick Boles: The Department for Education publishes capital spend data on individual university technical colleges once contracts have been awarded and the schools are open. This information can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools

University Technical Colleges

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which university technical colleges closed in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.

Nick Boles: No University Technical Colleges (UTCs) closed in 2013 or 2014.Two UTCs, Black County UTC and Hackney UTC, closed in August 2015 and two UTCs, Central Bedfordshire UTC and UTC Lancashire, are due to close at the end of the 2015/16 academic year.Once closed, the change is reflected in our published list of open UTCs which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-open-schools-and-successful-applications

Students: Transport

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding will be provided to support further education students who have to travel further to access education as a result of colleges merging.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Future college mergers will tend to be decided through area reviews of post-16 education which are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area. Area reviews, because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, are well placed to ensure decisions are taken which are in the interests of local further education students, taking into account travel to learn distances. The steering group’s recommendations will always be based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs, and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns.As well as being members of area review steering groups, local authorities have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. Local authorities fund any support they provide for transport to post-16 education through the grants they receive from national government and through generated income, such as council tax.Most 16- to 19-year olds have access to a discount or concession on local travel, from their local transport provider, their local authority, or from their education or training provider. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used.

Ministry of Justice

Care Homes

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases relating to the (a) eviction of residents and (b) banning of guests in care homes have reached the High Court in each year since 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Probate

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's consultation on fee proposals for grants of probate, how fee income in excess of the costs of providing the Probate Registries service will be used.

Dominic Raab: The information requested can be found at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/fee-proposals-for-grants-of-probate/consult_view

Remand in Custody

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) men and (b) women who were remanded in custody (i) before conviction and (ii) after conviction did not go on to receive a custodial sentence for each offence type in the last year for which information is available.

Mike Penning: The number of sentenced offenders who were remanded in custody at the Crown Court before and after their conviction, and the proportion who did not receive a custodial sentence, by gender and offence group, in 2015, can be viewed in the attached table. The number of sentenced offenders who were remanded in custody at magistrates’ courts before their conviction, and the proportion who did not receive a custodial sentence, by gender and offence group, in 2015, can be viewed in the attached table. Data for post-conviction remand at magistrates’ courts is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.



Number of Sentenced Offenders Types by Gender
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.59 KB)

Prisoners

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the petition entitled Introduce Helen's Law, published on the change.org website, what steps his Department is taking to encourage prisoners to reveal information about the crimes they have committed.

Andrew Selous: Staff in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) work with individual prisoners on a daily basis to address their risks and needs. A vital part of that activity is encouraging prisoners to acknowledge their responsibility for all their previous crimes. NOMS staff will also take appropriate action where prisoners disclose information either of additional offences or of aspects of their offences that were previously unknown. The Parole Board already takes into account offenders’ co-operation in identifying the location of a victim’s remains when determining whether they should be released; however, Ministers have asked the Parole Board to consider whether its guidelines in this area should be strengthened.

Prisoners: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision HM Prison Service makes to meet the spiritual needs of prisoners who speak Welsh in prisons in (a) Wales and (b) other parts of the UK.

Andrew Selous: The spiritual needs of Welsh speaking prisoners have been, and continue to be, provided by chaplains working in multi-faith teams. The framework for providing faith services in languages other than English is detailed in Prison Service Instruction 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care of Prisoners. This can be found on the Justice website at the following link: https://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis

Magistrates: Resignations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates have (a) resigned or (b) given notice to resign to HM Courts and Tribunals Service since February 2016; and how many magistrates resigned or gave notice to resign in equivalent periods in 2014 and 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The numbers of magistrates who resigned between 1 February and 20 May this year and each of the two preceding years are shown below: 2016: 2232015: 3602014: 305 The Judicial Office is notified of resignations, and processes them, on a rolling basis. The figure for 2016 does not, therefore, include any resignations which have been received locally by bench chairmen or advisory committees, but not yet communicated to the Judicial Office. That information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Violence

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for the provision of rehabilitation and re-education for perpetrators of coercive control and intimate partner violence who are serving (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentences.

Andrew Selous: The Ministry of Justice works with its partners to deliver a range of services and programmes across custody and community which aim to reduce and manage the risk posed by perpetrators of coercive control and intimate partner violence. We use structured risk assessment to understand the risks, needs and circumstances of individual offenders. We then match individuals to appropriate interventions and services, such as the Building Better Relationships accredited programme, to reduce their risk, protect the community and ensure public money is spent in the best way.

Prison Service: Sick Leave

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers for what reasons have taken long-term sick leave in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Long-term sick leave is defined within the Civil service as periods of absence of more than 28 calendar days. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers to have taken at least one period of long-term sick leave in each of the last five years for which information is available is shown in the table below. Table: Number of Band 3-5 Officers who had an incidence of sick leave of 28 or more days, by type of sickness, 2010/11 to 2014/15 Type of Sickness2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Blood and Blood-Forming Organs~~~1010Circulatory System120130120120110Digestive System15014014011090Ear and Mastoid Process2010201010Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases10202020~Eye and Adnexa2020201020Genitourinary System6060507060Infective and Parasitic Diseases5040504050Injury and Poisoning300310300380380Mental and Behavioural Disorders840850850960920Musculoskeletal System920800730610550Neoplasms4040404040Nervous System and Sense Organs6070706050Pregnancy Complications5040403030Respiratory System5050604040Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue2020302010Symptoms Ill-Defined670750790790680Not Recorded80809080160Grand Total34903430341033903200 Where an officer has more than one period of long-term absence within a year for the same reason, they are counted once. Where multiple absences were for different reasons they are counted more than once. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures. Totals are formed from unrounded parts prior to rounding. For this reason, rounded totals may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. ~ denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Prime Minister

UK Membership of EU

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Prime Minister, how many of the leaflets entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK, have been returned to (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) other Government departments; and what the postage cost to the Government has been of such returns.

Mr David Cameron: This information is not held centrally.

Prime Minister: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will visit Northern Ireland before 23 June 2016.

Mr David Cameron: I visit all parts of the United Kingdom regularly, including Northern Ireland. I last visited Northern Ireland on 27 February.

Radicalism

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2016 to Question 36679, which of those specific groups of people referred to in that Question he has shared a speaking platform with in an official capacity.

Mr David Cameron: Details of my official speeches are available on the gov.uk website.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Cadets

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit Army and Sea Cadet detachments in Northern Ireland.

Mr Julian Brazier: As Minister with responsibility for Cadets, I am aware of the good work Cadet forces do in Northern Ireland and welcome invitations to visit its Cadet establishments. There are no immediate plans to visit Cadet detachments in Northern Ireland but I would be very happy to consider such visits in the near future.

Type 26 Frigates

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original planned date was for cutting steel to begin for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; to what date this planned date has been moved; whether the cause of that change was (a) limited capacity of BAE Systems and its sub-contractors to meet the original schedule or (b) a decision to remove a significant sum from the annual T26 budget; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: No firm date has yet been set for cutting steel which will mark the start of the manufacture phase of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) programme.For equipment procurement programmes the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, and we have not yet reached that decision point.The approval, in March 2016, of the Extended Demonstration Phase is consistent with the incremental approach to approvals we have adopted for the T26 GCS programme.During the Demonstration Phase, we will continue to work with industry to re-baseline the programme in order to implement the changes resulting from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the investment in Shore Testing Facilities, extending investment in our wider supply chain as well as further developing the detailed design of the ship ahead of the main investment decision and the start of manufacture.

Type 26 Frigates

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original projected in-service date was for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; and what the current projected in-service date is for first such ship.

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of by how much the cost of the Type 26 programme is expected to increase for every year that the in-service date for each ship is delayed.

Mr Philip Dunne: For equipment procurement programmes, the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, however, the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme has not yet reached that stage.As is normal practice for equipment procurement programmes, we have developed a planning assumption that the first Type 26 GCS would come into service in 2022.We are working with industry to develop an optimised schedule for the Type 26 GCS programme to implement the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. This work is ongoing and will inform the main investment decision.

Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department's contracts in the last five years used the largest proportion of British steel.

Mr Philip Dunne: The largest defence equipment procurement project during this period has been the construction of the two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Updated figures show that the vast majority of structural steel used, some 95,000 tonnes, was manufactured in the UK.In the main, defence requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. UK suppliers have made a significant and valuable contribution to the supply of steel for our major defence programmes. New Government guidelines, which have been implemented in the Ministry of Defence, will also help them compete for future defence projects.

Unmanned Marine Vehicles

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the speed of development of unmanned underwater vehicles on the capability of Trident submarines to evade detection.

Mr Philip Dunne: The submarines that carry our trident missiles will not be rendered obsolete by new technologies, including developments in unmanned underwater vehicle technology. We dedicate considerable resource to horizon scanning to assess the threats from emerging capabilities and will apply any necessary mitigations throughout the lifetime of both the Vanguard Class and the future Successor Class of nuclear deterrent submarines, to combat these future challenges. We assess that the ocean will remain a complex and challenging environment in which through the conduct of large scale anti-submarine warfare our adversaries may seek to threaten our submarines, despite advancements in technologies.

Armed Forces: EU Institutions

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK military staff posted to (a) Eurocorps and (b) other EU institutions.

Mr Julian Brazier: The UK is not a member of Eurocorps and has no military staff posted to it. The UK currently has 17 military staff posted in the EU institutions.

Department for Work and Pensions

Motability: Older People

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons restrictions are placed on people aged over 65 seeking to lease a car through the Motability scheme.

Justin Tomlinson: The Motability scheme is not restricted to those under 65. Around one third of Motability customers are aged 65 or older. The Motability scheme is available to those in receipt of a qualifying benefit, regardless of their age. These benefits are the enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment, the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, Armed Forces Independence Payment or War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.

Industrial Health and Safety

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementation of the Health and Safety Executive's strategy, Helping Great Britain work well on the number of workplace accidents.

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Health and Safety Executive's effectiveness strategy on reducing deaths from work-related respiratory illnesses.

Justin Tomlinson: HSE regularly reviews the implementation of its strategies - including the new strategy for the health and safety system - and reports the findings in its annual report. HSE’s latest annual report is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/ara-2014-15.pdf

Access to Work Programme: Hearing Impairment

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a health condition affecting their hearing have received support from Access to Work grants to (a) start work, (b) stay in work and (c) move into self-employment.

Justin Tomlinson: Access to Work is available to individuals who are in or about to start paid employment and whose disability or health condition affects the way they do their job. The Department does not distinguish between those helped into new employment opportunities, including self-employment, and those helped to retain existing work.5,580 people whose primary medical condition is listed as ‘Deaf and hard of hearing’ were helped by Access to Work in the period 2014/15. This figure is taken from the latest statistics for Access to Work, which show figures for people helped by the scheme going back to 2007 and are published quarterly here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/514468/access-to-work-statistics-to-dec-2015.pdf

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gaming Machines

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by when he plans to open the next triennial review of gaming machine stakes and prizes.

David Evennett: In April 2015 the previous Government introduced regulations which require authorisation of stakes over £50 on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals through a “verified account” or staff interaction. The Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations on 21 January. The evaluation paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-gaming-machine-circumstances-of-useamendment-regulations-2015. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

Gambling

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has provided for the (a) research, (b) education and (c) treatment of problem gambling in each year since 2010; and if he will estimate the level of funding provided by the gambling industry for such activities in each of those years.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial provision his Department has made for the (a) research, (b) education and (c) treatment of problem gambling in each year to 2020; and if he will estimate the amount of funding provided by the gambling industry for such activities in each such year.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what research on the effect of fixed odds betting terminals his Department has (a) commissioned, (b) carried out and (c) assessed from external sources since 2010; and whether his Department plans to carry out or commission any further such research.

David Evennett: The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), was set up to by the Gambling Commission to advise on priorities for research, education and training (RET) relating to responsible gambling. The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) an independent charity, then commissions research into gambling related harm and funds education and treatment programmes, taking into account the priorities set out by the RGSB. It is a requirement on all gambling licence holders to make an annual financial contribution to one or more organisations that perform research, education or training for gambling-related harm. The vast majority choose to make that contribution to the Responsible Gambling Trust, which has raised £7.5 million in 2016 (unaudited); £6.5 million in 2015; £6.3 million in 2014; £5.7 million in 2013; £5.2 million in 2012; £5 million in 2011 (each year relates to the previous 12 months to 31 March). RGT’s accounts for these years are available on the Charity Commission website and include the breakdown of expenditure between research, treatment and harm prevention. RGT is committed to working with RGSB to estimate the cost of the education activities identified in the recently published National Responsible Gambling Strategy, 2016-19, that will be expected to raise from businesses who profit from commercial gambling in Britain. The Responsible Gambling Trust has published a number of research reports into FOBTs since 2010, which are available on the RGT website: http://www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk/research/research-publications/ Further RGT commercial and independent research on Category B Gaming Machines was published on 24 May, and can be found here http://www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk/research/research-publications/

Gambling: Greater London

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling licenses were in effect in (a) Tottenham and (b) Greater London (i) in 2010 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling licenses were issued for premises in (a) Tottenham and (b) Greater London in each year between 2010 and 2016.

David Evennett: The requested information is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the issuing of gambling premises licences, in accordance with the Licensing Objectives and their own Statement of Licensing Policy. Local Authority license registers listing the number of licences in each borough are available to access by the public. The Gambling Commission estimates there are around 2,800 licences in operation in the greater London area, based on feedback from Local Authorities. Haringey Borough Council’s licensing register can be found at the following address: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/business/licensing-and-regulations/licensing/licensing-register

Tourism: Yorkshire and the Humber

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase tourism in Yorkshire from (a) domestic and (b) foreign visitors.

David Evennett: Yorkshire had a record breaking year for inbound tourism in 2014 following the Grand Depart, and there were 1.29 million visits from international tourists to the region in 2015. Domestic overnight trips to Yorkshire were also strong in 2015: £1.92 billion was spent by these tourists in that year - an 11% increase on spending in 2014. Yorkshire also benefited from the £1m staycation campaign run early in 2016 to attract domestic visitors to the area following that winter's floods.

Gambling: West Yorkshire

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling licenses were issued for premises in (a) Calderdale and (b) West Yorkshire in each year between 2005 and 2016.

David Evennett: The requested information is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the issuing of gambling premises licences in accordance with the Licensing Objectives and their own Statement of Licensing Policy. Local Authority license registers listing the number of licences in each borough are available to access by the public. More information from Calderdale Council can be found at http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/business/licences/gambling-act/index.html

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce regional variations in local authority (a) core spending power and (b) core spending power per dwelling in England.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Local Government Finance Settlement distributes resources fairly by taking into account the main sources of income available to councils, including council tax and business rates. This means that funding is allocated in a way that ensures authorities delivering the same set of services receive broadly the same annual percentage change in these main sources of income.Councils facing the highest demand for services generally continue to receive more funding and have higher spending power than less deprived authorities. In 2016-17 the 10% most deprived authorities received 23% more funding than the 10% least deprived.We have also announced a Fair Funding Review to consider the funding needs of different types of areas. This will involve a thorough review of what the needs assessment formula should be in a world in which local government spending is funded by local resources, not central grant. The Review will be done in partnership with the Local Government Association and the wider local government sector, so that all councils have the opportunity to contribute their views.

Public Libraries: Lancashire

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support Lancashire County Council in (a) keeping library buildings open and (b) sustaining the function of those buildings as libraries.

Mr Marcus Jones: Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how best to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service to their local community, within available resources.Lancashire County Council has a Core Spending Power per dwelling of £1321 for 2016-17 rising to £1392 per dwelling by 2019-20.The Department for Culture Media and Sport, together with the Local Government Association, has set up a Leadership for Libraries Taskforce to help public libraries in England build on good practice and add value for the communities they serve. The Taskforce is currently consulting on the attached document at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/libraries-deliver-ambition-for-publiclibraries-in-england-2016-2021 which sets out the ambition for public libraries in the future. Furthermore, thanks to Government funding, free Wi-Fi is available to 99% of public libraries in England.

Economic Growth: Lancashire

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Lancashire Enterprise Partnership in progressing Growth Deal projects.

James Wharton: The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal with Government will invest over £250 million across Lancashire.Good progress has been made to date, with 15 out of the 39 projects in the programme underway, and a further 13 due to commence shortly.Projects under construction will, amongst other outcomes, support the construction of 850 housing units, create over 2,000 jobs and add over £28 million GVA per annum to the local economy.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report Three years on: an independent review of Local Council Tax Support Schemes by Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, published in March 2016, whether he plans to implement the recommendation to identify how much funding for Council Tax Support is provided to local authorities through the Revenue Support Grant.

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report Three years on: an independent review of Local Council Tax Support Schemes by Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, published in March 2016, whether his Department plans to take steps to better understand the effect of Local Council Tax Support Schemes on individuals and councils.

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report Three years on: an independent review of Local Council Tax Support Schemes by Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, published in March 2016, if he will commission in-depth academic research on the effect of Local Council Tax Support Schemes within the wider context of other welfare and socio-economic changes.

Mr Marcus Jones: Eric Ollerenshaw's independent report recognises the successful implementation of Local Council Tax Schemes by local government and makes a number of recommendations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, whilst remaining a local discount. The Department for Communities and Local Government will consider these recommendations carefully.

Floods: European Union Solidarity Fund

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will confirm that any funding received as a result of the application for EU Solidarity Fund Assistance will be distributed to those communities affected by recent flooding.

James Wharton: We are determined to do all we can to support flood-affected areas, which is why we have already paid out over £250 million to ensure that communities and businesses can get back on their feet as soon as possible. Once our application to the EU Solidarity Fund has been finalised, and approved by the Commission, we will consider how any additional funding should be used.

Broadband

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making superfast broadband a planning obligation on all new build properties

Brandon Lewis: We have worked with BT Openreach and the Home Builders Federation on an agreement, announced earlier this year, which aims to deliver superfast broadband connectivity to new build properties in the UK. We have also recently introduced a requirement for all new buildings and major renovations to include in-building physical infrastructure to support connections to superfast broadband. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework places the provision of superfast broadband alongside other strategic infrastructure and requires local planning authorities to consult providers as part of the Local Plan.

Wales Office

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project.

Guto Bebb: My office remains in close contact with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on the potential development of a tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay. We have announced an independent review into tidal power which will be led by industry expert Charles Hendry, who is well regarded across the energy industry and on both sides of the House.

Human Rights Act 1998: Wales

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential effect on Wales of plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Guto Bebb: Wales Office Ministers have regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on a range of issues including our plans to reform the UK Human Rights framework. Revising the Human Rights Act can only be done by the UK Parliament and we will consult fully before bringing forward proposals.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Iron and Steel: Renewables Obligation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many Renewables Obligation Certificates have been issued to steel producers who have recycled energy in their steel plants.

Andrea Leadsom: The Renewable Obligation is designed to support investment in renewable electricity to meet our EU renewables target and contribute towards our wider low carbon goals. It only supports electricity generated from renewable non-fossil sources. This definition is taken from the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC and is set out in the Renewables Obligation Order 2015. To date, no steel producer has accredited under the Renewable Obligation and so no Renewable Obligation Certificates have been issued to steel producers.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consideration she has given to the retention of Article 10(a) paragraph 16(a) of the EU Emissions Trading System, Directive 2003/87/EC, to take account of the carbon leakage vulnerability of activities with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions under the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) while continuing to support the competitiveness of British businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy. We recognise the barriers to decarbonisation in certain sectors with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions. The Government has engaged with industry and industrial sector bodies to understand the enablers and barriers to deep decarbonisation, including through the joint industry-Government decarbonisation and energy efficiency roadmaps. We will continue to work closely with UK industry to consider ways to account for process emissions in the next phase of the EU ETS, starting in 2021.

Solar Power

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much domestic solar PV by MWp was deployed in Quarter 1 of the new FIT scheme; and what the cap was for that quarter.

Andrea Leadsom: Domestic solar PV (typically greater than 4kW) is included within the greater than 10kW solar PV cap. In quarter one of 2016, the deployment cap for solar PV greater than 10kW was set at 48.4 MW and 21.031 MW of capacity was deployed. Unutilised capacity was rolled over to the next quarter’s cap.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to support French proposals for an EU-wide carbon floor price.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 23 May 2016



The Government supports the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as a market-based approach to cap emissions and achieve least-cost decarbonisation. Negotiations to reform and strengthen the EU ETS for the next phase of the system starting in 2021 are still in the early stages. Proposals to set thresholds for the EU carbon price are one of many options open for discussion. The Government believes that the implementation of the Market Stability Reserve, as agreed in 2015, is essential to strengthening the EU ETS carbon price in the long-term and to providing a strong, stable low-carbon investment signal.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will join the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 23 May 2016



The UK has joined the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition as a government partner.The UK supports carbon pricing and carbon markets as a means of driving cost effective decarbonisation to help reach the long-term goal agreed in Paris: to keep global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees and make efforts to deliver 1.5 degrees.

Oil: Exploration

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons it has not been practicable for her Department to lay the Committee on Climate Change report on Compatibility of Onshore Petroleum with meeting UK carbon budgets before Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 23 May 2016



The Department has received the Committee on Climate Change report. We are considering the report and will lay it before Parliament with our response in due course.

Oil: Exploration

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when her Department plans to lay the Committee on Climate Change report on Compatibility of Onshore Petroleum with meeting UK carbon budgets and its response before Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has received the Committee on Climate Change report. We are considering the report and will lay it before Parliament with our response in due course.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 33418, what progress her Department has made on options for taking account of process emissions in a tiering system for the allocation of free allowances under Phase IV of the EU Emissions Trading System; and what those options are.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) while continuing to support the competitiveness of British businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy. We recognise the barriers to decarbonisation in certain sectors due to high proportions of emissions from chemical processes. Negotiations to reform the EU ETS are still in the early stages, with discussions ongoing on possible tiered free allocation to industrial sectors. We will continue to work closely with UK industry to consider ways to account for the issue of process emissions in the next phase of the EU ETS starting in 2021.

Solar Power

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to her Answer of 12 May 2016, Official Report, column 707, what the evidential basis is for the statement that take up of domestic solar PV systems is strong.

Andrea Leadsom: The statement is based on the number of feed-in tariff applications received so far under the greater than 10kW solar PV cap. Once transitional and seasonal factors are considered, I am confident that we remain on track to meet the deployment projections published in the Impact Assessment of the 2015 FITs review decision. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486084/IA_-_FITs_consultation_response_with_Annexes_-_FINAL_SIGNED.pdf

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will publish the findings of the Ricardo Energy and Environment report into benchmarking for the Phase IV of the EU Emissions Trading System; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: In 2015, the Department of Energy & Climate Change commissioned Ricardo Energy and Environment and Vivid Economics to undertake a study into sectoral benchmarks used to determine levels of free allocation in the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The study is progressing and, once complete, we will use the findings to inform EU ETS reform negotiations as well as considering publication in due course.

Carbon Emissions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department will implement the recommendations made by the Committee on Climate Change in its report of November 2015, The fifth carbon budget - The next step towards a low-carbon economy.

Andrea Leadsom: This Government remains firmly committed to meeting our climate change target of an at least 80% emissions reduction by 2050. The fifth carbon budget, which covers the period 2028-2032, is an important step on the way to 2050. Discussions on this budget are continuing and we will make an announcement as soon as those discussions conclude.

Carbon Emissions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will set the emissions target recommended by the Independent Committee on Climate Change in the Fifth Carbon Budget.

Andrea Leadsom: This Government remains firmly committed to meeting our climate change target of an at least 80% emissions reduction by 2050. The fifth carbon budget, which covers the period 2028-2032, is an important step on the way to 2050. Discussions on this budget are continuing and we will make an announcement as soon as those discussions conclude.

Energy Supply

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how the reforms to the Capacity Market announced on 6 May 2016 will provide investment incentives for new gas plants to be built in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: The purpose of the Capacity Market is to ensure security of electricity supply by providing all forms of capacity the right incentives to be on the system to be prepared to deliver energy when needed. On 6 May we announced that we would buy more capacity and buy it earlier, enhancing the opportunities for new plant such as gas.

Energy Supply

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how the reforms to the Capacity Market announced on 6 May 2016 will ensure a secure electricity supply that is consistent with the decarbonisation objectives set out in her Department's single departmental plan.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has set out a number of policies which will decarbonise the economy. For example, we will consult shortly on proposals to close all unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025 to reduce our emissions and continue to invest in new low carbon generation. The changes to the Capacity Market announced on 6 May will ensure security of electricity supply as we decarbonise: this is non-negotiable. However, all bidders into the Capacity Market are all affected by decarbonisation policies. For example, the EU ETS and the Carbon Price Floor will reduce the competitiveness of coal generation in the Capacity Market relative to cleaner technologies like gas.

Energy: Meters

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department has made on rolling-out smart meters as standard by the end of 2020; and what estimate she has made of the number of homes that will have a smart meter installed by the end of each year to 2020.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to every home and small business being offered smart meters by the end of 2020. The Programme is making good progress. Over 3 million meters have been installed in homes and business across Great Britain in the Foundation stage of the Programme, ahead of the nationwide roll-out. Suppliers’ annual projections on the number of smart meters installed each year to 2020 can be found on page 28 of the Fourth Annual Report on the Roll-out of Smart Meters:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/477258/Smart_Meters_Implementation_Programme_Annual_Report_2015.pdf

Energy Supply

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of extra reserve capacity in the National Grid in 2016 and 2017.

Andrea Leadsom: National Grid has procured 3.6GW of a total volume cap of 3.7GW (de-rated capacity). This is the amount that National Grid calculated in their ‘volume Requirement methodology’ to assess the amount of reserve that would be considered adequate, considering a number of sensitivities. This has been approved by the regulator, Ofgem.

Energy: Meters

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the data security of smart meters.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has worked with industry and security experts, including GCHQ, to design a smart metering system that has robust end-to-end security. The Department’s Data Access and Privacy Framework puts consumers in control of who has access to their data except where energy suppliers and networks have access for regulated purposes, such as to enable accurate monthly billing. All organisations involved in communicating with smart meters are required to comply with a detailed set of security obligations, with each aspect of the system subject to regular, independent security assurance. Smart meters will not store data such as a consumer’s name, address or bank details. A key design principle for the system is the maintenance of user privacy. Any transaction of data which could be deemed ‘personal’, including energy consumption data, is encrypted so only the intended recipient can see it.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine plants have closed in the last two years; and what the (a) generation size and (b) location was of each of those plants.

Andrea Leadsom: The following Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plants have closed within the last two years: Name of Plant Capacity (MWe)LocationBarking1,000London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, East LondonRoosecote (mothballed in 2012; demolition in 2015)229Barrow in Furness, CumbriaKillingholme (Centrica)665Killingholme, Humberside This excludes combined cycle gas turbine plants which remain available under National Grid’s Supplementary Balancing Reserve and/or plants which have converted to open cycle operation at reduced capacity or have otherwise reduced capacity.

Electricity Interconnectors

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received from (a) industry bodies and (b) the public on reviewing the treatment of electricity interconnectors under the reformed capacity market; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: We have received a number of representations on this topic, most particularly in response to the three formal consultations on this topic over the last three years. A summary of all the responses we received to these consultations are available on the Government website.

Electricity Generation

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, by what mechanisms the National Grid can procure electricity supplies outside of the capacity market.

Andrea Leadsom: National Grid routinely purchases electricity through the balancing mechanism to ensure supply and demand balance precisely minute-by-minute. National Grid is also able to contract forward to ensure the availability of capacity which can provide these balancing services, for example, through the Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR); and for the provision of other ancillary services required to meet the physical needs of the system, although these services are often provided by capacity which is also participating in the energy market. These will still be available to Grid after the Capacity Market begins operation and some of the services will be available through plant participating in the capacity market. During 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17, ahead of the introduction of the capacity market, National Grid has also been allowed by Ofgem to procure capacity into the Supplementary Balancing Reserve (generation) and Demand-side Balancing Reserve. National Grid has already procured 3.6GW for next winter which ensures we will have an adequate capacity margin. Once the capacity market begins operation in 2017/18, Ofgem have stated that they will discontinue this facility.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the level of megawatts of new Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) capacity unit that will be commissioned by 2022; and what estimate her Department has made of the total available CCGT capacity by 2022.

Andrea Leadsom: The volume and mix of new capacity which will come forward is determined by the energy market, together with the capacity market mechanism. However, the Updated Energy and Emissions projections published in November 2015 included a reference case of a cumulative total of 5GW of new gas fired capacity and total gas fired capacity of 30GW as at 2022. This includes all forms of gas, including CCGT as well as flexible gas peaking capacity – the mix of new capacity will be determined through technology neutral competition in the capacity market. All projections are sensitive to changes in market conditions: if gas prices remain low, more new gas projects will be economic in this period, relative to ageing coal plant, than if the gas price rises.

Fossil Fuelled Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on the (a) costs and (b) margins of combined cycle gas turbine plants of (i) Supplementary Balancing Reserve and (ii) other Black Start ancillary support subsidy contracts to coal plants.

Andrea Leadsom: The Supplementary Balancing Reserve and Black Start contracts are two important services developed to support National Grid in managing security of supply. Responsibility for these services rests with OFGEM.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost is of (a) the supplementary balancing reserve and (b) other black start ancillary support contracts provided by the National Grid to (i) Eggborough, (ii) Fiddler's Ferry and (iii) Drax power plant.

Andrea Leadsom: Information on Supplementary Balancing Reserve and ancillary support contracts is confidential. The cost of contracts with individual suppliers is therefore unavailable.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with (a) Big Six and (b) other electricity generators on the effect on the electricity market of (i) existing and (ii) new combined cycle gas turbine generation.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC officials regularly meet with electricity generators to discuss the electricity market, including the outlook for their existing gas power stations as well as prospects for any planned investment in new gas power stations.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with (a) OFGEM and (b) the National Grid on encouraging the construction of new combined cycle gas turbine power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: Ministers and officials are in regular contact with OFGEM and National Grid including in relation to the prospects for new gas power stations.

Electricity Generation

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what measures she is taking to reassure existing electricity generators that the capacity market is fair and stable.

Andrea Leadsom: The Capacity Market design will enable competition between new and existing capacity and between different technologies so that all providers of capacity have the right incentives to make efficient decisions about investment in, and operation of, their assets. We work with all stakeholders to review the Capacity Market continuously to ensure it remains a fair competition and have acted to ensure a level playing field which retains the confidence of bidders and investors.The Rules governing the operation of the Capacity Market mechanism are managed by Ofgem to ensure both a fair and stable process.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost of maintaining Black Start plans for coal-fired power stations has been to date.

Andrea Leadsom: National Grid is responsible for maintaining a Black Start capability for the Great Britain national electricity transmission system. This includes ensuring that all plans are up to date and fit for purpose. The costs for National Grid to administrate the Black Start capability are included in its operating expenditure under the transmission price control managed by Ofgem (currently RIIO-T1).

Fossil Fuelled Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with (a) Big Six and (b) other combined cycle gas turbine generators on the effect on the electricity market of Black Start payments to coal-fired power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had specific discussions with the Big Six or combined cycle gas turbine generators on this matter.

Electricity Generation

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent progress has been made on the gas generation strategy.

Andrea Leadsom: The Gas Generation Strategy [1], published in December 2012, set out a range of proposed measures, at that time, to support investment in new gas plant. The Government has made significant progress in delivering the measures outlined in the Strategy. Of particular importance was the introduction of a capacity market in 2014 which provides reliable capacity, including gas plant, with secure revenues. The Government believes the capacity market provides the necessary financial incentives to ensure new gas plant are brought forward as and when needed.  [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gas-generation-strategy

Electricity Interconnectors

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many terawatt hours of electricity have been imported into the UK by individual interconnectors since 2013.

Andrea Leadsom: The table below shows the net imports of electricity via interconnectors for 2013 to 2015. TWh France -Ireland-Netherlands-Ireland-Total UK1N.Ireland2UK1Wales1 201310.30.06.3-2.214.4201415.00.17.9-2.420.5201513.80.28.0-1.120.9  1. Demand data available on the National Grid website at www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Industry-information/Electricity-transmission-operational-data/Data-Explorer/.  2. Data available on the SEMO website at www.sem-o.com/marketdata/pages/energysettlement.aspx.  Further details on imports, exports and transfer of electricity via the interconnectors are available in Energy Trends Table 5.6 at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends

Electricity Interconnectors

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with UK electricity generators on the effect on the electricity market of market imported electricity by interconnectors not subject to the carbon price floor.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has discussed this issue with Energy UK and its members. The Government supports greater interconnection, and Ofgem’s assessment of the impact of importing electricity shows significant benefits to the consumer. The first round of new projects could deliver more than £11.8bn of consumer benefits over 25 years, primarily driven by reductions to the GB electricity wholesale price. Ofgem’s assessment also considered a scenario with no carbon price differential between countries and concluded that this would make no material difference to the business case for these projects.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many megawatts of Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine construction is taking place in the UK; and what the (a) size and (b) location is of each of those constructions.

Andrea Leadsom: There is currently one CCGT project under construction and commissioning. This has a connection capacity of 910MW and is located in Carrington, Greater Manchester.

Electricity Generation

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will publish the information her Department holds on the (a) process, (b) criteria and (c) guidance followed by the National Grid to deliver (i) supplementary balancing reserve and (ii) black start ancillary services contracts for the next 12 months; and what analysis was taken in advance to inform that delivery.

Andrea Leadsom: These services are a matter for National Grid, and the appropriate documentation is published on their website. The contingency balancing methodologies are available here: http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Services/Balancing-services/System-security/Contingency-balancing-reserve/Methodologies/ These documents also include National Grid’s analysis. And information on the procurement of the Black Start Service is published here: http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Services/Balancing-services/System-security/Black-Start/Black-start-about-the-service/ National Grid have not published their analysis of this as it is commercially confidential.

Fossil Fuels: Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36451, if she will make it her policy to publish dates of meetings held between the Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas and representatives from that industry since May 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The members of the Inter-Ministerial Group are fully engaged with this industry and use this to inform the group’s work.

Fossil Fuels: Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36450, what consultation meetings she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with trades unions for UK oil and gas workers on the development of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas plan for the UK oil and gas workforce.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is engaging with a range of stakeholders as it develops a UK oil and gas workforce plan. A range of Unions were invited to a workshop on the 21st March 2016 to discuss the emerging proposals. The Department, along with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to engage with Unions as appropriate.

Solar Power

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taken to encourage the use of solar power in new building developments in England.

Andrea Leadsom: Solar power is a good option for developers looking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their building stock. We encourage such installations by allowing solar power on new building developments to qualify for the Feed-in-Tariff scheme, and through Building Regulations that set demanding energy performance targets for new buildings. The Regulations were strengthened most recently in April 2014, to a level that means builders increasingly have to consider the use of renewable technologies in their designs. These could be solar panels, or they could be other types of renewables, which might be more appropriate depending on the location. As the costs of panels continue to fall, we expect developers will increasingly see the value of installing solar power on new buildings.

Energy: Meters

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to remove the deadline for the installation of SMETS 1 meters as a result of software upgrades making such meters compatible with her Department's requirements.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government remains committed to ensuring the industry and consumer benefits of SMETS2 meters operated through the Data and Communications Company (DCC) are realised as soon as possible, while providing industry sufficient time to transition from SMETS1 to SMETS2 meters. The Government considers that a SMETS1 end-date of 12 months from availability of all DCC functionality strikes this balance; however we reserve the right to review the end date.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many applications for feed-in tariffs under the renewables obligation order-feed-in tariff application process for larger systems managed by Ofgem are awaiting accreditation.

Andrea Leadsom: The total number of Renewables Obligation Order Feed-in Tariff (ROO-FIT) applications which are awaiting accreditation as of April 2016 is 1993. This includes 472 applications for preliminary accreditation, 1456 applications which have converted to full accreditation or applied for full accreditation, and 65 amendments to existing accredited installations. Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided.

Coal: Imports

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal produced and imported into the UK is used for (a) electricity generation, (b) steel production, (c) cement manufacture, (d) domestic uses, (e) carbon fibre goods, (f) liquid fuel manufacture, (g) mobile phone components and (h) heritage railways in the latest year for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom: The table below gives the proportion of coal produced and imported into the UK by sector for 2014. DECC only produces industry consumption data for the main industrial sectors. Therefore, data is not broken down specifically for cement manufacture, carbon fibre goods, liquid fuel manufacture and mobile phone components. For industry the table shows the two largest consumers and iron and steel.  Thousand TonnesProportion %Total Demand48,500 Transformation45,66594.1%Of which: Electricity Generation38,40079.2%Industry2,2404.6%Of which : Mineral Products11732.4% Pulp, paper, printing, etc1360.2% Iron and Steel540.1%Heritage railways130.03%Domestic5471.1%*Other350.1%*includes energy industry use, public administration, commercial and miscellaneous. Source:DUKES table 2.4 available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.

Small Businesses: Feed-in Tariffs

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure all Feed-in-Tariff applications from small and medium-sized enterprises are dealt with in 60 days.

Andrea Leadsom: Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided. Those applications still in the process after 12 weeks are likely to be complex or require further clarification from the applicant. Ofgem is committed to continuous improvement of accreditation processes and works with applicants to get applications approved as quickly as possible. In order to accomplish this Ofgem has now doubled the level of staffing in this area and made process improvements.

Fuel Poverty

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32639, how she ensures that those most in need benefit from the Energy Company Obligation and Warm Home Discount; and whether she plans to change how households in fuel poverty are identified.

Andrea Leadsom: Currently, the Warm Home Discount and the Affordable Warmth Group under the Energy Company Obligation are targeted at low income households, using means-tested benefits as the basis for eligibility. In April this year, Government consulted on plans to enable data sharing between government departments, specified public authorities and energy suppliers with the specific purpose of identifying and targeting assistance at fuel poor households. If successful, these proposals would allow DECC to use government-held data to identify more accurately low income households with high energy costs. This capability could then be used under a future Warm Home Discount. There will be a reformed domestic supplier obligation (Energy Company Obligation) from April 2017, which will run for 5 years. It will upgrade the energy efficiency of homes and tackle the root cause of fuel poverty. Government will be consulting shortly on proposals for the 2017/18 scheme, including how households in fuel poverty would be identified.

Housing: Energy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32639, how much of the investment in energy efficiency measures referred to was spent on (a) administrative costs and (b) targeted energy efficiency schemes; and what estimate she has made of the amount that will be spent on administrative costs relating to such planned investment in the current Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom: Of the £7.4bn spend last parliament, around £350m was spent by energy suppliers on administration and the remainder (around £7bn) spent on delivery. Of the £1.8bn estimated to have spent between May 2015 and the end of March 2017 (when ECO is due to end), around £160m is expected to be spent on administration, with the remaining £1.6bn spent on delivery. The Government has yet to consult on the design of the future supplier obligation replacing ECO, so it is not possible to estimate the administration costs beyond March 2017. However, the consultation is expected to include provisions designed to reduce the cost of administration relative to ECO, freeing up more of the estimated £1.9bn for delivery. The administration costs are proportionately higher under this parliament, as ECO strengthened the monitoring and reporting requirements for suppliers relative to those under CERT and CESP (which were in operation during the last parliament), to allow more detailed and timely monitoring of suppliers’ progress against their obligations.

Housing: Energy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32639, how much of the investment in energy efficiency measures referred to in (a) the 2010 to 2015 Parliament and (b) the current Parliament is classified as direct government investment.

Andrea Leadsom: The vast majority of spending on energy efficiency is delivered through Government obligations on energy suppliers and is thus not classified as direct Government investment. Of the £7.4bn estimated spend last parliament, around £150m is classified as direct Government investment [1] (around 2% of the total); this parliament around £100m of the £3.6bn spend (also around 2%) falls into this category.  [1] Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, Cashback and Green Deal Communities

Energy: Meters

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department has made on working with major energy suppliers on the smart meter roll-out to ensure that it provides maximum benefit to consumers.

Andrea Leadsom: We are working closely with all energy suppliers on the roll-out to ensure that the consumer benefits are delivered. Good progress has been made to date, with over 3 million meters having been installed. There is evidence that consumers are already saving energy. Recent British Gas research shows that smart meter customers have reduced energy consumption by around 3%, on average, for both gas and electricity.

Solar Power

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her policy is on her Department's April 2014 Solar Strategy document.

Andrea Leadsom: Solar is a UK success story: since the previous Government’s April 2014 Solar Strategy was published, we’ve more than doubled the capacity of UK solar, and industry expect that we have already exceeded the forecast of 10GW by 2020 made in that document.However, the position of this Government is clear: we can only expect bill payers to support low carbon power if costs are controlled; subsidy should be temporary, not part of a permanent business model; and as costs come down, as they have for solar, so should support.We are encouraged by the way the solar industry is responding to the policy changes we have made in order to control costs: deployment of solar under the revised FIT scheme continues and several developers are putting together models to encourage their customers to install solar without subsidy – the models needed to create a sustainable sector for years to come.

Solar Power: VAT

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the Government plans to publish its response to the December 2015 HM Revenue and Customs' consultation on increasing VAT for domestic solar.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK has applied a reduced rate on 11 different types of energy saving materials since 2001. That remains in place and remains unchanged. HMRC are currently considering the responses to their consultation on energy saving materials and they will respond in due course.

Electric Cables

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of replacing traditional lattice pylons with the T-pylon in environmentally sensitive areas.

Andrea Leadsom: The T-Pylon is an innovative design that won a competition held in 2011 by the Royal British Institute of Architects, DECC and National Grid. The first scheme in which the use of the T-pylon has been proposed is for some sections of the Hinkley Point C Electric Line connection that was granted development consent by the Secretary of State on 19 January 2016. The decision to grant consent was made on the merits of the scheme based on a report and recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate. The Planning Inspectorate’s report and the Secretary of State’s decision can be found at: http://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-connection/.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Procurement

David Mackintosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage small businesses to apply for government contracts.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud on 27 April UIN: 904721.

Iron and Steel

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value was of publicly-procured British steel in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clacton on 4 May to UIN: 35702.

Anti-corruption Summit

Mark Menzies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies were invited to the UK Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

Matthew Hancock: Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Isle of Man and Gibraltar were invited to the Anti-Corruption Summit.

Public Sector: Databases

Mr David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the results of the Better use of data in government consultation.

Matthew Hancock: Shortly.

Cabinet Office: Hotels

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of hotel bookings his Department made for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Details of Ministerial overseas travel, and senior officials' business expenses are published on a quarterly basis. The remaining information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Tackling Corruption Together Conference

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a list of the people who attended the Tackling Corruption Together Conference on 11 May 2016.

Matthew Hancock: The Tackling Corruption Together conference on 11 May was organised by a consortium of civil society organisations, businesses and the Commonwealth Secretariat. The government was not responsible for the guest list.

Public Sector: Ombudsman

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish a draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill.

John Penrose: We remain committed to this reform and will publish draft legislation in due course.

House of Commons Commission

Select Committees: Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7713, what progress has been made on developing device independent applications for the distribution of select committee papers; and how many hon. Members have now been issued with (a) android and (b) iPad devices.

Tom Brake: Holding answer received on 24 May 2016



Options for the distribution of committee papers are being explored. One option involves using a SharePoint based system to distribute committee papers and this is due to be tested with a select committee soon.Documents for select committees are circulated to committee members electronically, predominantly in PDF format. The PDF format can be read on a number of different devices.594 Apple iPads and 25 tablets of other makes have been purchased by or issued to Members’ offices in this Parliament.

Department of Health

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals in England are equipped to deliver thrombectomy to stroke patients.

Jane Ellison: Information is not collected centrally on the number of hospitals in England which are currently equipped to deliver thrombectomy for stroke. In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it. The guidance is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg548 NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.

Strokes: Mental Health Services

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and adequacy of mental health support available to stroke survivors.

Jane Ellison: Access to stroke specific psychological support is vital to diagnosing and managing many of the unseen effects of stroke. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme has recently conducted an audit of the provision of services to people with stroke once they have left hospital. The audit found that around 42% of Early Supported Discharge teams and 44% of longer term community rehabilitation teams had some access to psychologists. There are also physiotherapists, nurses and occupational therapists on these teams who often address psychological issues. We know that there are improvements to be made in providing psychological support for stroke survivors. Clinical commissioning groups are encouraged to consider how the needs of these patients might be met when commissioning services.

Cancer: Complementary Medicine

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the recent decision of the US and Indian governments, announced in the press release of the government of India on AYUSH of 3 March 2016, to review and cooperate on whether to reduce morbidity from cancer using ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy interventions.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not made an assessment on this matter.

Defibrillators

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise purchase of defibrillator equipment; and if he will discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer reviewing the VAT regulations that apply to such equipment.

Jane Ellison: In the budget in March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government is making available another £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England. This builds on last year’s funding of £1 million, which provided almost 700 more publicly accessible defibrillators in communities across England and increased the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Details on how this second tranche of the funding can be accessed will be available in due course. The Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps all tax policy under review.

Vulnerable Adults

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specialist support is provided by his Department to vulnerable adults without family support.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not provide any such support directly.The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities in England to meet the care and support needs of vulnerable people, carers and their families. Statutory guidance sets out the circumstances and services that a local authority, working with its local partner organisations, may arrange to meet people’s needs. Examples include information, advice and advocacy, care and support at home or in the community, counselling and other types of social work, goods and facilities, domiciliary care and accommodation in a care home or in suitable premises of some other type.Where a person has substantial difficulty in being fully involved in their care planning or lacks capacity to agree and consent to the care plan and has no family or friends who are able to support their involvement, an independent advocate must be appointed.

Steroid Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on the risks associated with continued use of steroids.

Jane Ellison: Advice to clinicians on prescribing steroids such as corticosteroids and sex hormones is contained in the British National Formulary. This includes information on potential side effects and how to mitigate those risks. Prescribers should always involve patients in decisions about the treatment proposed, including informing them of any possible side effects from their prescribed medicines. Public Health England convened an Expert Group to develop briefing for local authority commissioners. The attachment “Providing effective services for people who use image and performance enhancing drugs” http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/providing-effective-services-for-people-who-use-image-and-performance-enhancing-drugs.pdf which was published in July 2015, contains a summary of potential harms from the non-prescribed use of anabolic steroids and lists references for further information in the scientific literature.



Public Health England document
(PDF Document, 113.25 KB)

Hypertension

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of people with high blood pressure.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has established the Blood Pressure System Leadership Board to help drive improvements in the prevention, detection and management of high blood pressure. In 2014 the group published ‘Tackling High Blood Pressure: Evidence into action’, which sets out priority interventions required across the system and key commitments being made by various system partners.The NHS Health Check programme offers blood pressure testing to adults aged 40-74 years of age. Recent national evaluation of the programme demonstrated that one case of hypertension was diagnosed in every 27 people receiving a check.NHS England is working with partners to promote better Cardiovascular Disease outcomes, including improving the detection and management of conditions such as high blood pressure.PHE continues to work on reducing the risk factors of high blood pressure at a population level, through action to improve the diet of the nation and reducing inactivity.

Cancer: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS plans to offer keyhole surgery for liver and colon cancer.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is committed to promoting evidence-based innovation and surgical techniques. Laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery can be used in many different surgical interventions, including for liver and colorectal cancer, as determined by clinical teams, often in discussion with the patient.

Clinical Psychologists: Training

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to consult on levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee clinical psychologists for the 2017-18 cohort.

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee clinical psychologists for the 2017-18 cohort are adequate to ensure a diverse future workforce.

Ben Gummer: Health Education England (HEE) funding for trainees in clinical psychology is currently determined at a local level based on local need and is subject to annual workforce planning. For 2016-17, HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17. HEE’s plans for training clinical psychologists remain unchanged from 2015-16 with 526 commissions proposed for 2016-17. HEE will set out its plans for 2017-18 training commissions in its next annual Commissioning and Investment Plan or Workforce Plan for England which is expected to be published in December 2016 prior to the start of the financial year.The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of the education funding reforms for pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health courses which are currently funded through both HEE funded tuition, a National Health Service bursary and reduced rate loan for maintenance. Respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to the funding for courses operating outside of this model, such as clinical psychology training programmes. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response.

Strokes

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for a National Stroke Strategy after the end of the ten year strategy plan in 2017.

Jane Ellison: The National Stroke Strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues. There are, therefore, no current plans to renew the strategy. Action continues to be taken to ensure the progress made on stroke continues. This includes: - ongoing work across the country to organise acute stroke care to ensure that all stroke patients, regardless of where they live or what time of the day or week they have their stroke, have access to high quality specialist care; - publication of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy in 2013, which includes many stroke specific strategic ambitions; - a CVD expert forum, hosted by NHS England, to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy; and - NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke working with the Strategic Clinical Networks, clinical commissioning groups, voluntary agencies and individual providers to support better commissioning and provision of stroke care. More generally, the NHS Five Year Forward View recognises that quality of care, including stroke care, can be variable and that patients’ needs are changing and new treatment options are emerging. The Five Year Forward View sets out high level objectives to address these issues.

Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what legal costs (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have incurred to date in relation to decisions on access to (i) narcolepsy drugs, (ii) hepatitis C drugs and (iii) pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.

George Freeman: The Department’s legal costs are met from individual teams’ existing legal budgets and cannot be broken down further. NHS England also advises that it is not able to provide this information as these are live issues incurring ongoing legal costs.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of childhood obesity on the development of musculoskeletal conditions.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government plans to take to address musculoskeletal conditions in its childhood obesity strategy.

Jane Ellison: Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese.

General Practitioners

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioner's report entitled A blueprint for building the new deal for general practice in England, published in May 2015, if his Department will respond to the recommendations of that report on (a) necessary increases in the GP workforce and (b) the proportion of the NHS budget that should be invested in general practice.

Alistair Burt: The Department has committed to increasing the primary and community care workforce by 10,000 by 2020, including an additional 5,000 doctors working in general practice.The General Practice Forward View, published by NHS England on 21 April and developed in discussion with the Royal College of General Practitioners and other general practitioner (GP) stakeholders, sets out actions to double the rate of growth of the GP workforce by introducing measures to increase recruitment, retention and return to practice.The General Practice Forward View states that NHS England is committed to increasing the proportion of investment going into general practice services, which should reach over 10% by 2020/21. Investment in general practice will increase by £2.4 billion per year by 2020/21, meaning that investment will rise from £9.6 billion in 2015/16 to over £12 billion a year by 2020/21.

Muscular Dystrophy: Drugs

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS England implements the NICE recommendation for NHS funding for Translarna as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The expected publication date for NICE’s final guidance is July 2016.National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE highly specialised technology guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued.

Muscular Dystrophy: Drugs

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many meetings NHS England has had with PTC Therapeutics to discuss an agreement on price for Translarna to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy since 15 April 2016.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that on 4 May 2016 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) asked NHS England and PTC Therapeutics to continue to work towards agreeing an acceptable managed access arrangement for Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of children aged five and over with Duchenne muscular dystrophy caused by a nonsense mutation. NHS England and the company have been asked to reach agreement on the cost of the drug to the National Health Service by 7 July. NHS England has advised there have not been any commercial meetings with PTC Therapeutics in the period since 15 April 2016, however, it is in regular contact with the company. NHS England will be meeting with PTC Therapeutics when it has concluded the detailed preparatory work required to effectively respond to NICE's request within the set timescale.

Breastfeeding

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to funding levels on the provision of breastfeeding services.

Ben Gummer: There has been no assessment made on the effect of changes to funding levels on the provision of breastfeeding services. However, the Department is working with Public Health England and other stakeholders to develop a method and sources of information to monitor the impact of its policy on infant feeding.

Breastfeeding

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support breastfeeding services; and what assessment he has made of the importance of breastfeeding to national health policy.

Ben Gummer: Support and information about breastfeeding is currently available to health professionals and parents through: the NHS Choices website under the Start4Life banner; the National Breastfeeding Helpline; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative; and local peer support programmes.Parents-to-be and new mums and dads can also sign up to the Start4life Information Service for Parents. Subscribers receive regular free emails, videos and SMS messages offering high quality advice and information, based on the stage of pregnancy and the age of the child, including breastfeeding support. The service also signposts parents to other quality assured information about parenting, relationship support and benefits advice.Breastfeeding delivers significant health benefits both for the mother and her baby and is more cost effective for mothers than other methods of infant feeding. A mother’s milk provides a perfect balance of nutrients and vitamins, so exclusive breastfeeding is all a baby needs for around the first six months. This is why the Department in line with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

Nurses: Debts

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of student debt among nurses.

Ben Gummer: The Government is currently consulting on its proposed scheme for student finance. As part of that consultation a number of questions are asked about student support. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course. It is for the respective Governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to consider such issues for their health system.

Nurses: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the level of funding for specialist nurses.

Ben Gummer: It is Health Education England’s (HEE) responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including those needed in specialist fields, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.HEE publishes an annual Workforce Plan which is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.The Workforce plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders.Once staff are qualified, it is for individual employers to ensure their staff remain up to date with, or acquire, specialist skills to provide safe and effective patient care through Continuous Professional Development and provide sufficient funding locally to ensure this occurs.

Lyme Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with his German counterpart on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease by the NHS.

Jane Ellison: No specific discussions have been held but the National Health Service, Public Health England and national laboratories across Europe use well established, standardised, tests and international External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency across Europe.However, Lyme disease is a complex infection and we recognise that challenges in diagnosis and treatment remain. In light of this, the Department is commissioning three reviews on the diagnosis, treatment and transmission of Lyme disease to inform future decision making.

Health Services: Staff

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to review staffing and training levels for particular services in cases where payments for agency staff are capped.

Alistair Burt: The agency cap, introduced in November 2015 covers all staff in trusts and foundation trusts.It is the responsibility of local employers, with their knowledge of service needs, to determine the numbers and skill mix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency. They will do this for each service, taking into account local factors such as acuity and case mix.It is Health Education England’s responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including those needed in specialist fields, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his ministerial colleagues and (b) external organisations on the provision of free prescriptions for those over the age of 60 who are in full-time employment.

Alistair Burt: We have had not had recent discussions at Ministerial level or with external organisations on changing the entitlement to free prescriptions for those age 60 and over who are in full time employment.

Pharmacy

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee's counter-proposal to the Government's plans for the future of community pharmacy, published in April 2016.

Alistair Burt: We have been consulting on proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond.Throughout the consultation period we have remained open to new ideas and suggestions both from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and from other stakeholders.We have welcomed the publication of PSNC’s counter proposal on 26 April 2016. This has enabled these ideas to be discussed with other key stakeholders.The public phase of the consultation ended on 24 May 2016. The Department, supported by NHS England, will continue to discuss the proposals in confidence, with the PSNC and hold a final round of confidential discussions with other key pharmacy stakeholders.

Health Services: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Nottingham Emergency Medical Services and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will receive further funding from the Government to provide any extra services in Ashfield and Mansfield required as a result of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services no longer providing such services.

Ben Gummer: This is a matter for local National Health Service commissioners.NHS England advises that Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group’s contract with the caretaker providers has been established on the same basis as the previous contract with Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services.

Carers

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) average and (b) longest wait was for a carers' assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are currently on the waiting list for a carers' assessment.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have received a carers' assessment since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014.

Alistair Burt: There is no central collection of data on the average and longest wait for a carer’s assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014. Nor is data collected centrally on the number of people currently on the waiting list for a carer’s assessment. Data on the number of carers assessed during the financial year 2014-15 by local authority is attached. It should be noted that these figures include both joint and separate assessments from the cared for person. The source for this data is Short and Long Term Support (SALT), England 2014-15. This return is collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.Link to SALT: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18663



Number of carers assessed 2014/15
(Excel SpreadSheet, 21.59 KB)

Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the funding which Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services received from the public purse has been recovered by the Government; and if he will establish an investigation into that body's handling of its finances.

Ben Gummer: This is a matter for Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which managed the contract with Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (CNCS).NHS England advises that the CCG has paid CNCS the sums it was contractually due. The CCG will endeavour to recover costs incurred as a result of the provider failure.Local commissioners will conduct a review of the contract with CNCS, and the contingency process, to see if procurement processes can be strengthened in the future.

Health Services: Contracts

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications are for his policy on private NHS contractors carrying out healthcare services of the failure of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services to be able to continue to provide such services; what steps his Department is taking to ensure that other such contractors continue to provide the services for which they are contracted; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for securing the provision of services to meet the needs of their population. The Department expects CCGs to hold providers to account in a way which works effectively in their area. CCGs are free to commission services from the provider that they feel offers the best services for the local population in line with the legislative framework. We do not anticipate that the failure of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services will affect this policy.

Pharmacy

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of community pharmacies to (a) local minor ailments services, (b) needle exchanges and (c) local commissioned services; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the closure of such pharmacies on (i) such services, (ii) patient care, (iii) GP practices and (iv) hospitals.

Alistair Burt: The Department has not made a specific assessment of the contribution of community pharmacies to local minor ailment services, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. However, information available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that during 2014/15, 1,863 community pharmacies were commissioned to provide local minor ailment services and 29 were commissioned to provide needle and syringe exchange services, as National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities are, however, able to commission local services and it is very likely that local authorities commission needle and syringe exchange services from community pharmacies and CCGs commission minor ailment services. However, this information is not available nationally. Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an important role in delivering services such as management of minor ailments locally, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering high quality clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. The community pharmacy proposals for 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered in respect to the public sector equality duty, the family test and relevant duties of the Secretary of State under the NHS Act 2006. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course. Local commissioning and funding of services from community pharmacies will be unaffected by these proposals. NHS England has taken account of the potential impact of a pharmacy minor ailments service on general practitioner services and other parts of the NHS. The findings of the Minor Ailment study (‘MINA’ study), conducted by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with NHS Grampian and the University of East Anglia, on behalf of Pharmacy Research UK in 2014, were considered. In addition, evaluations of local minor ailments schemes have continued to inform decision-making about local commissioning of such schemes.

Medical Records: Databases

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) Healthwatch England, (b) Healthwatch Enfield and (c) other patient groups on the decision by NHS Royal Free Foundation Trust to grant Google DeepMind access to NHS patient records.

George Freeman: The Department has received no representations from patient groups on this subject.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will receive further funding from the Government to provide any extra A&E care required as a result of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services no longer providing such care.

Ben Gummer: Additional funding for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SFHFT) would be a matter for the local clinical commissioning groups. NHS England advises that SFHFT has neither requested nor received additional funding as a result of the new caretaker arrangements. Nottingham Emergency Medical Services, the new caretaker provider of out of hours urgent care services at King’s Mill and Newark hospitals, has met the needs of the patients. We are advised by NHS England that in the period since the handover took place there has been no material impact on the performance of either SFHFT or the mid Nottinghamshire health and social care system against the national four-hour accident and emergency standard.

Health Services: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an acceptable level of care for patients in Ashfield constituency following changes to the provision of urgent out-of-hours GP and care home support services provided by Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services.

Ben Gummer: This is a matter for the National Health Service locally. Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) advises that the needs of people in Ashfield are now being met by Nottingham Emergency Medical Services, which is providing urgent and  out-of-hours care, and by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s care home support service. The CCG advises that it took all necessary action as soon as it knew that Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (CNCS) was no longer in a position to continue providing services. Despite very short notice of the extent of CNCS’s difficulties, the CCG states that it has safely executed a smooth handover of services. It has rigorously monitored the quality of the caretaker providers’ performance during the handover, and will continue to do so. The CCG will now review procurement options for the long-term delivery of local out-of-hours and urgent care services.

Surrogate Motherhood

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has published on surrogacy for professionals working in midwifery, hospitals, fertility clinics and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the campaign by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service to raise awareness of the importance of parental orders for new parents and surrogates.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve public and professional awareness and understanding of surrogacy.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report of Surrogacy UK, Surrogacy in the UK: Myth busting and reform, published on 28 April 2016, if he will take steps to publish a legal pathway document for intended parents and surrogates.

Jane Ellison: Surrogacy is a complex issue, the legislation about which has not been significantly addressed by respective administrations since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act was introduced in 1985. The Government recognises the arguments for the need for a review, and we have therefore asked the Law Commission, as part of the consultation on its 13th work programme this summer, to consider including a project on surrogacy. The Department has not issued guidance about surrogacy to professional groups or the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). The Government recognises surrogacy as an important option for some people wishing to start a family and is currently considering how best to clarify the current legal arrangements for intended parents, surrogates and their families. The CAFCASS campaign to increase awareness of Parental Orders is ongoing and targeted at health workers, local authority registration staff and surrogacy agencies. It will be evaluated in full upon completion in autumn 2016; in-campaign monitoring indicates its messaging is reaching the target audience.